Travel News: September 21, 2017

Less than a week after warning American travelers to not visit Cuba, the U.S. State Department has updated its travel warning to Cuba with slightly softer language that now urges travelers to “carefully consider the risks” of traveling to the Caribbean island.

This is the second update to the warning originally issued by the State Department on September 6.

Ryanair was facing serious blowback this week after a major scheduling snafu forced hundreds of cancellations and affected nearly half a million customers.

The European budget giant said it must cancel 40 to 50 flights a day through Oct. 31 because it – in its CEO’s own words – “messed up in the planning of pilot holidays.”

The “planning” issue left a number of crew rushing to book time off before the end of Ryanair’s calendar year, which it is now syncing to a different 12-month window used in the European Union. Ryanair, which is based in Ireland, says the problem has left it short-staffed through the end of October.

Independent hotel collection Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has relaunched its The Club loyalty programme with new benefits and a new name, Invited.

According to the group, members’ feedback was taken into account when determining the new scheme and its various rewards and benefits. Among the most notable changes is the addition of Small Luxuries, a benefit system entailing bespoke experiences and personalised touches. Examples highlighted by the company include guests receiving a bottle of their favourite wine during their stay or return, or having a dream trip on a yacht arranged by the group.

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By: Matt Long

Matt has a true passion for travel. As someone who has a bad case of the travel bug, Matt travels the world in order to share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer.
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